Toy Photography: A Timeline

A quick breakdown of the history of toy photography. I hope this will pique your interest and encourage you to delve in deeper at the links below.

Those of you who have been keeping up with my research, know that toy photography can be linked back to the invention of photography, even back to the practice of still life in art. However, within history books, toy photography is not a genre labeled outside of the umbrella genre’s of still life, staged, fabricated and directorial mode.

It’s important that we see toy photography as part of recognized artistic practices, but I think it’s also important that we see its unique qualities.

So let’s get into it.

1898

Albert Smith and James Stuart Blackton create a short film with miniatures called ‘Raising Old Glory Over Morro Castle.’

Edward H. Amet creates a short film using miniautes called ‘Bombardment of Matanzas,’ passing it off as the real thing.
- The War Films Made with Toys
1912

Fashion photographer, Adolph de Meyer, created this still life image of a miniature figure.
- Is Toy Photography Art?
- Vogue and Toy Photography
1917

16 and 9 year olds, Elsie Wright and Francis Griffiths created the Cottingly Fairies photographs, passing them off as real fairy sightings.
- The Staged Photos that Fooled Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the World, for Nearly 70 years
1925

Edward Weston created this image of toys.
- Fake It Til You Make It
- The History of Toy Photography
Late 1920s – 1930s

Herbert Bayer, Still Life, 1936

Laszlo Maholy-Nagy, Herbert List, Herbery Bayer, Emiel Von Maerkerken, Vilem Reichmann, and Hans Bellmer, used toys and miniatures for some of their works
1929

Kodak received 15 toy photography submissions to their picture contest.
- Kodak and the Rise of Amateur Toy Photography
1933

Wesley David Archer, published his series ‘Death in the Air,’ passing it off as real.
- Toy Photos of War that Fooled the World for 50 Years
1934

Robert Kenneth Wilson (or more accurately, Marmaduke “Duke” Wetherell), captured a staged photo of the Lochness Monster, passing it off as real.
- The Toy Photo that Fooled the World for 60 Years
1940s & 50s

Guiseppi Cavalli and Horst P. Horst both used miniatures within thier still life work.
- Surrealist Figure Photographers of the Mid 1900s
- Vogue and Toy Photography
1957

Dare Wright began writing and photographically illustrating ‘The Lonely Doll’ book series.
- The History of Toy Photography
1972

David Levinthal began using toys in his photography during graduate school, and still photographs toys to this day.
- Where Toy Photography Got it’s Wings: David Levinthal at SAAM
1975

James Casebere began creating photographic works with self-made miniatures. He continues to work in this way today.
1976

Laurie Simmons began working with toys in her images. She still uses toys and miniatures in her photographic work today.
- Kaleidoscope House
- The History of Toy Photography
1978

Ellen Brooks used toys in her photography from 1978-1985.
- The History of Toy Photography
1983

Henk Tas began creating staged images with toys, and continued to do so, at least until 2005.
- Henk Tas, “the grandmaster of staged photography”
1988

Arthur Tress created ‘The Teapot Opera’ using staged toys. He then made ‘Fish Tank,’ the following year.
- The History of Toy Photography
1992

Walter Wick photographically illustrated the I-Spy books beginning in 1992. He had created, what he refers to as ‘picture puzzels,’ prior to this time, but the timeline and works created, are not well defined.
2000s and Beyond

Lori Nix and Kathleen Gerber, Matthew Albanese, Mark Crummet, Grace Weston, Tatsuya Tanaka, Felix Hernandez, the wonderful people I’ve met through the instagram toy photographers community, all those who got invloved during the pandemic, and so many more, have been, and are still, working within this world. I’ll update as the years go by.